General Interest Submissions

We publish articles of general interest as space is available. You may submit manuscripts on any topic that will appeal to EJ readers. Remember that EJ articles foreground classroom practice and contextualize it in sound research and theory. As you know, EJ readers appreciate articles that show real students and teachers in real classrooms engaged in authentic teaching and learning. Regular manuscript guidelines regarding length and style apply.

Upcoming Themes

Teaching English in the Age of IncarcerationDeadline: July 15, 2012Publication Date: March 2013Guest Editor: Marc Lamont Hill

Over the past 40 years, the prison population in the United States has grown from 250,000 to 2.5 million people. In addition, we’ve seen a sharp rise in youth incarceration, zero-tolerance policies, and the militarization of public schools. This special issue explores the ways that the English classroom can be used to highlight, understand, critique, and support/challenge this reality. We seek articles that examine how the English classroom can be used to address the needs of students who are dealing with imprisonment: How can English connect to students whose friends, family, and neighbors are increasingly under criminal supervision? What types of English education are taking place within prison-based settings, including youth detention centers, jails, and halfway houses? How is the prison system supporting and/or undermining English education? We seek work that addresses how issues of confinement (broadly conceived) are addressed within the English canon: How are teachers making use of fiction and nonfiction texts written by authors held against their will in prisons, plantations, concentration camps, and other confined settings? What connections are English teachers making between confinement authors—from Miguel de Cervantes to Malcolm X—and the currently incarcerated? We also welcome articles that locate sites of possibility for social change: How can English language arts be used to spotlight, examine, or challenge the current incarceration crisis? Articles written by or with individuals currently or formerly incarcerated are especially encouraged.

The Capacity and Audacity of EnglishDeadline: November 15, 2012Publication Date: July 2013

English is a wide-reaching field and one that takes some cheek, or chutzpah, to teach well. This final issue of Ken Lindblom’s editorship explores these aspects of English teaching and learning. Connected with all human communication, the field of English includes literary study, linguistic knowledge, philosophical speculation, psychological exploration, composing in written and in new visual and aural forms, arts of presentation, developing literacy skills for critical citizenship in a democracy, the ability to debate and convince, habits of mind that encourage reflection and openness to new learning and change, and much more. What is the new territory and outer landscape of the field of English, and how have you encouraged your students to explore it? With so much within our purview and within the present climate of financial and educational reform, it takes a certain amount of audacity to teach English well. How have you helped students learn to take risks in their research, writing, and presenting? What books have you found worth fighting to include in your curriculum? What challenges do you still face in your curriculum? How have you emphasized real education in the face of higher-stakes testing? What advice do you have for new teachers in the present political environment? How can we help students to develop the skills required to take a stand in difficult circumstances? How do we continue to motivate ourselves as English teachers?

Manuscripts should be submitted after August 1 to Julie A. Gorlewski and David A. Gorlewski; additional information to come. What do we want our students to learn? What are they learning? And how do we know? Developing and implementing effective assessment strategies is an ongoing challenge for both novice and experienced teachers. The contemporary trend toward using standardized test scores as primary measures of student and teacher performance emphasizes the need for teachers to develop knowledge and proficiency in the area of assessment. Teachers, as those closest to learners, are positioned to be experts about what learners know and are able to do. English teachers must assess numerous, intricate sets of skills and understandings—capacities and aptitudes that are not easily quantified. How can this be done? How is high-quality assessment supported? And what obstacles exist to its implementation? This themed issue will explore the complexities of assessment,considering matters such as authentic assessment, for-mative and summative assessment, and assessment of the various, multifaceted aspects of English language arts. Articles in this issue will consider the various products that demonstrate student growth, share ideas about evaluating learners and learning, and examine the forces that promote—and detract from—effective, authentic assessment.

Choices and Voices: Teaching English in a Democratic SocietyDeadline: March 15, 2013Publication Date: November 2013

Manuscripts should be submitted after August 1, 2012, to Julie A. Gorlewski and David A. Gorlewski at http://www.editorialmanager.com/ncteej. As English teachers, we have a responsibility to prepare students to be active participants in a democratic society—to be able to see through popular political rhetoric, develop an understanding of the issues and conflicts, and perceive themselves as significant members of a dynamic society. Given this context, we seek articles that explore the realities and possibilities of English classrooms in our democratic society. How can the skills we aim to develop (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) relate to democracy? What types of literature are uniquely suited to this topic? How can we use literature as a lens through which to view democracy? What does American literature say about our nation and its people? Is it celebratory or critical—or somewhere in between? How can nonfiction works be used to further the teaching of democratic principles? How do different approaches to writing and speaking encourage and/or discourage voices of diverse populations? How might teachers use writing and speaking to help students to find their voices as members of a democratic society? How can various forms of writing (for example, argumentation, persuasion, narration, poetry) foster and enhance understanding of, and participation in, democratic processes?

Ongoing Features

Speaking My Mind: We invite you to speak out on an issue that concerns you about English language arts teaching and learning. If your essay is published, it will appear with your photo in a future issue of EJ. We welcome essays of 1,000 to 1,500 words, as well as inquiries regarding possible subjects.

Student Voices: This is a forum for students to share their experiences and recommendations in short pieces of 300 words. Teachers are encouraged to submit the best responses from their classes, not whole class sets, please. Individual students are welcome to submit as well. Current questions:

--How has English class made you more gutsy? (Deadline: November 15, 2012)--What kinds of traditional assessments (tests, quizzes, projects, etc.) and nontraditional assessments (artwork, multi-genre pieces, electronic submissions) are the best measures of what you have learned? (Deadline: January 15, 2013)

Teacher to Teacher: This is a forum for teachers to share ideas, materials, and activities in short pieces of 300 words. Current questions:

--What is something you've done as an English teacher that took guts, and was it worth the risk? (Deadline: November 15, 2012)

--In your own practice, what are the most important lessons you have learned about assessment? (Deadline: January 15, 2013)

Original Photography

Teacher photographs of classroom scenes and individual students are welcome. Photographs may be sent as 8" × 10" black­-and-white glossies or as an electronic file in a standard image format at 300 dpi. Photos should be accompanied by complete identification: teacher/photographer’s name, location of scene, and date photograph was taken. If faces are clearly visible, names of those photographed should be included, along with their statement of permission for the photograph to be reproduced in EJ.

Original Cartoons

Cartoons should depict scenes or ideas potentially amusing to English language arts teachers. Line drawings in black ink should be submitted on 8 1/2" × 11" unlined paper and be signed by the artist.